Fast Company, Webber, Alan M., Learning for a Change, May 1999

The University of Minnesota Extension Service referred to itself as a flat organization for years and was very proud to not have positional leadership in charge. When this didnt work as well as expected, some people started referring to our organization as a learning organization.

This article highlighted to me the challenges of a learning organization and revealed some of the reasons we havent exhibited the sort of change and energy this restructuring was supposed to produce.

We have known for a long time that positional leadership does not equate an effective leader. The problem suggested by Peter Senge author of The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization is that positional leaders have treated organizations as a machine to be fixed and adjusted rather than a living being where people have choice and will.

Senge suggests we need to cultivate change where people have a sense of openness, a sense of reciprocity, even a kind of vulnerability, and must be willing to be influenced by another person.

Starting small is key to create energy and growth for new ideas. Senge suggests that deep change comes only through real personal growth--through learning and unlearning. I thought this sounded like our discussions about transformational learning. This growth results in building commitment because they really care about what is happening.

Second-order change efforts have come about in companies where people served as internal networkers to get people talking to one another and building feeling of community. Some positional leaders are able to serve in this role but most tend to think about the system like a machine.

As I discussed this in relation to the UMES efforts, we realized that the old system was taken away but a new healthy way of operating was not put into place. We were supposed to change but we didnt know what to change to. Some staff felt resentment because more responsibility and expectations were placed on field staff during this time.

-- Anonymous, June 29, 1999

Answers

Melissa, Enjoyed your thoughts about learning organizations and the suggestion from Senge that deep change comes only through real personal growth--through learning and unlearning. I think Senge is right on the mark when he says that large-scale change efforts never work if mandated from the top. And that we need to see the value in internal networkers in the organization that can build community. I agree, it sure does tie into what we learned about transformative learning.

-- Anonymous, June 30, 1999

Melissa Persing,

Well written. Nice job of relating it to Extension.

"Unlearning" perhaps is more about timeliness and present relevancy of the approach, rather than the lack of original value of the learning.

Susan Jarosak, Thank you for adding your comments to this article discussion.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 1999